So I forgot about this blog for a little while I’ve tried settling into the new apt. The dog didn’t immediately adapt well either, and had one particularly bad weekend of whining/yelping/attacking the coat rack. I was actually pretty petrified that the neighbors would complain to the landlord and I would get evicted or something nightmarish. But one of my friends suggested making all the neighbors cookies and just being upfront about the situation. So that’s what I did! I didn’t take pictures, but this recipe is pulled from the Food Allergy News Cookbook, from the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. My mom used to make these for me, but we found the original formula a little oily. So these are her modifications:

Combine cocoa and margarine, stir. Add water/oil/baking powder mixture and sugar. Add vanilla extract and stir until mixed. Add flour, baking soda and salt, and mixed until combined. Then refrigerate 30 mins. A note here, I felt like the dough wasn’t coming together enough, so I added some splashes of soymilk and ice water as needed. Of course, when I baked ’em, the cookies all flattened out into each other and I had to cut them apart. Like brownie-cookies (browkies? crownies?)

Preheat oven to 375. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, and place on cookie sheet (doesn’t need to be greased). Sprinkled extra sugar over cookies as desired and bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Remove and cool on wire racks.

We always flattened these with forks after rolling them into balls, but that might not be a good idea depending on how much extra liquid you added.

Anyway, they were definitely fudgy and delicious. Neighbors were appreciative and dog is settling down. So it’s all looking up! It definitely felt good to bake again. That’s something that’s always made me feel productive and useful, so it was like a defining THIS IS MY KITCHEN BITCHES moment.

Although I’m still getting used to the fact that the sink is like 10 feet away from the prep area and behind the fridge…

This picture has nothing to do with the recipe. It came up on a google image search for “peace offering cookies.”

I tried to delete this blog. I did. I didn’t know when I’d even eat again, let alone be able to cook or eat out without thinking of the now ex-chef.

But one day, I will cook and bake again. And when I have the money, I may eat out again.

Furthermore, I still like food. And I still like detailing my experiences eating out with allergies, making vegan baked foods, and reflecting on growing up while being allergic to half the food pyramid.

So, for now, I’m going to try and keep this going. But I probably won’t have another post for at least a month.

The drizzle is delicious (there’s a shot of bourbon in it, and it is not cooked off) and so is the filling (bourbon in there too). But like last year, the apples weren’t mushy enough after baking for our tastes. The epicurious recipe doesn’t call for cooking the apples down beforehand, but I think we’ve resolved to do that no matter what the recipe says for the next time we attempt this.

I haven’t posted since the end of August because the semester started and that means if I write a blog post I will feel guilty that I’m not doing homework or workwork. So, yes, I feel guilty right now. BUT here’s the things I plan to write about when I get some spare time:

-Pickles and Preservation in general- We made our own pickles (by “we,” I mean Chef) but we haven’t really been eating them. He keeps talking about how he wants to make jam but that hasn’t happened either.
-Fall=baking things that make the house smell nice.
-Thanksgiving yum.
-Possible holiday treats to make for classmates/work
-Travis Schaffner is kinda my idol right now. In fact I want to make this first post I will get around to because I think he is that cool.

But it is midterm weeks… at UIC SPH, the midterm kind of extends over the period between mid-October to early November. So that plus work makes me very busy right now. I hope to have a new, worthwhile post up around Thanksgiving.

Does not need mayonnaise. In fact, for a long time while I was growing up, I didn’t even know the standard American version of coleslaw (“COLD SLOB!” as I called it) was creamy. My mom always made us coleslaw with a vinaigrette and it was delicious.

Last week, we picked up a cabbage on the way back from our Beloit, WI road trip (more on that coming). It’s been sitting in our fridge unused, so today I decided to ask my mom for the vinaigrette recipe:

Once you add everything in initially, you can just keep adding what you want to taste. Yum! I mixed it with chopped cabbage and carrot and cucumber slices, and now I’m letting the whole thing chill in the fridge to soak up the flavor and pickle a little. Full on flavor, no mayo necessary.